The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), the state’s tourism agency, is expecting to see “notable growth” in total scheduled nonstop air seats to Hawaii in 2012. The projection is based on flights appearing in OAG and Sabre Airlines schedules as of February 2012:

Total scheduled seat capacity is expected to climb 7.7 percent in 2012 over last year, buoyed by gains in all of Hawaii’s major markets, including increases in air seats from Asia and Oceania markets reaching a 10-year high. With total scheduled seat count reaching nearly 10 million seats, total capacity to the state is expected to reach 98 percent of peak 2007 levels by the end of the year.

The U.S. Mainland is still Hawaii’s single largest air service market, accounting for 69 percent of scheduled seats to the state. Scheduled seats from the U.S. West region are expected to rise 4.7 percent, pushed upwards primarily by the expansion of service by Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. Hawaiian Airlines’ launch of nonstop flights from New York, and United Airlines’ launch of service from Washington, D.C. are expected to grow U.S. East capacity by 6.4 percent in 2012.

Mike McCartney, CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, noted that as an island state, airlift and access is essential for Hawaii’s tourism economy. “The addition of 700,000 more seats into our state represents our collective efforts with industry partners to stimulate demand to the Hawaiian Islands,” he said in a statement.